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Letter: Prohibition on marijuana a failed inquisition

Part of the reason our federal government continues to treat marijuana like Kryptonite is the hiring criteria for federal jobs. Ignorance is a prerequisite for employment.

The emphasis on “drug-free” backgrounds ensures that those least knowledgeable about the effects and use of illegal drugs are charged with enforcing federal laws against them. Anyone who has actually smoked marijuana knows the plant is not nearly as dangerous (or exciting) as federal propaganda suggests.

The days when bureaucrats could get away with confusing the drug war’s collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant are over. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a failure. The United States has almost double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal.

The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. It’s time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana.